“A Raisin in the Sun” Concludes Performances

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Jennifer R Jones

An Unequivocal Success

Kenny Leon’s acclaimed revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun played its final performance at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre last night: Sunday, June 15, 2014. Starring Denzel Washington as Walter Lee Younger, this production took home three Tony Awards last weekend: those for Best Revival of a Play, Best Director of a Play (Kenny Leon), and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Sophie Okonedo). This was the most wins for any straight play at this year’s Tony Awards, and the show was also nominated for an additional two acting awards: those for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Anika Noni Rose). Though Denzel Washington was not nominated, Kenny Leon, in accepting his Tony Award, made it clear he believed this was a snub. After all, Washington received unqualified praise for his performance, and he furthermore won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for 2010’s Fences, also directed by Leon.

Successful Recoupment of Capitalization

The run was by all measures successful, as the producers announced last week that the play managed to recoup its entire capitalization, which is reported to be $4.25 million. This is a very large cost for a straight play with a limited engagement, but the investment, as well as the profit potential, was significantly upped due to the star casting of Denzel Washington, whose innumerable fans reliably flock to the theatre for the opportunity to see him in live performance. The recoupment is especially impressive given the briefness of the play’s run, which totaled only 85 performances in addition to 27 preview performances since it began on March 8, 2014 (the official opening was April 3, 2014). This achievement was only possible due to the high demand for tickets, which allowed premium pricing and very limited discounting. The entire run was sold out, the average ticket price each week was generally over $140, and the top ticket price for premium seats was $348. In general, the weekly gross reached around 110% of its potential (due to premium pricing), and each weekly gross was almost without exception over $1.1 million.

Solidifying Its Place In History

This is the third time A Raisin in the Sun has played on Broadway. The premiere was in 1959, marking the first time a play written by a black woman was seen on Broadway. The first revival was in 2004, also directed by Kenny Leon. Though that production won two Tony Awards (Best Actress for Phylicia Rashad, and Best Featured Actress for Audra McDonald), it did not win the award for Best Revival (though it was nominated), nor was Kenny Leon nominated for the award he would win in 2014: Best Director. Critics discussed how this production was a significantly more mature achievement than Leon’s first attempt, which may justify the difference in awards reception. This production also had the honor of being attended by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and his family. On Friday, April 11, 2014, West 47^th Street was swarming was security guards, as the first family made its way to the theatre. Barack and Michelle Obama also had attended a revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in 2009, and Michelle had taken her daughters to the musicals Memphis and The Addams Family.

All in all, this production was a crowning achievement for its producers, who make up a great selection of the producing society of Broadway, including Scott Rudin, Roger Berlind, Jon Platt, Scott Delman, Roy Furman, Stephanie McClelland, Ruth Hendel, Sonia Friedman, and Daryl Roth. In this light, it was actually a success for the Broadway community as a whole, pumping much needed blood into the life of quality-driven productions on Broadway.

“A Raisin in the Sun” Opens on Broadway

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Jennifer R Jones

On April 3, 2014, a new revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre, the same house where the play ran in its first production. Directed by Kenny Leon, who has become the go-to theatre director for African American content, the play received largely unqualified rave reviews from critics far and wide. With a superb cast led by mega movie star Denzel Washington as Walter Lee Younger, the production succeeded in proving the timelessness of Hansberry’s masterwork.

This is the play’s second revival on Broadway, following the original 1959 production. In 2004, Kenny Leon also served as director for the show. According to The New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley, Leon made new choices in the 2014 revival, justifying his return to directing the same play only a decade later. He stated that this production “feels far more of a whole” than the 2004 revival, as the relaxed approach he takes in the new revival is emotionally very compelling. Furthermore, in 2012, Bruce Norris’ clever riff off of this play, Clybourne Park, played on Broadway to great acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the Tony Award for Best Play.

The 2004 production of A Raisin in the Sun was the Broadway directing debut for Kenny Leon, who served as the artistic director of Atlanta’s True Colors Theatre Company from 1988 to 2000. Since his first Broadway credit, Leon has directed numerous Broadway shows featuring a primarily African American cast, including three plays by August Wilson: Gem of the Ocean in 2004-5, Radio Golf in 2007, and Fences in 2010, the last of which also starred Denzel Washington in a sold-out hit run. Furthermore, he helmed The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett as well as Stick Fly, both in the 2011-2 fall season. Following A Raisin in the Sun, Leon will direct a second show also in this spring season, the musical inspired by the songs of Tupac Shakur, Holler If Ya Hear Me.

When Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun, she was the first African American woman to have a play produced on Broadway. The play was nominated for four 1960 Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Direction. It was also named the Best Play of 1959 by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. This new revival holds promise to match up to the success of the play’s premiere. In addition to receiving laudatory notices from a slew of major publications, the play is well on its way to entering financial profits. The play has reached 100% capacity for every week thus far, crossing the million dollar mark for its past two weeks of grosses, which is a serious feat for a straight play. After all, Mr. Washington is not your average Hollywood star. He has consistently garnered well-deserved respect due to his extreme talent along with his humility, a rare combination at his level of fame.

Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 3/23/2014

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Michael Tubbs

This weeks notable movements on Broadway are:

NEW SHOWS THIS WEEK
Three shows began previews on Broadway this week. Act One played 4 performances at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, with an average paid admission of $57.67 per ticket, and an average audience capacity of 61.07%. Another not-for-profit theatre company was significantly more successful with their Broadway debut this week: the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Cabaret had an average paid admission of $94.96 and an average capacity of 101.7%, more than selling out their house due to premium sales in its three first performances. The third premiere this week is also off to a strong start: Of Mice and Men, benefitting from a star studded cast including James Franco, Chris O’Dowd, and Leighton Meester, attracted an average paid admission of $111.95, and filled its house to an average 95.6% capacity over the six performances of its first week. Overall, these figures exemplify how household name actors and familiar show titles can succeed in attracting a full audience even before reviews are published.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN
A Raisin in the Sun made it into the millionaire’s club this week, a real accomplishment for a straight play on Broadway, especially so early on in its run. With an average paid admission of $132.31 and a clean 100.00% audience capacity, this revival of the Lorraine Hansberry classic profited from the megastar status of its lead, Denzel Washington. This is the third week in which this production has been running, but it is the first 8-performance week. As such, it has done equally well this week compared to the prior week, which only had 7 performances.

THE REALISTIC JONESES
Another straight play in previews is The Realistic Joneses, which transferred to Broadway after an acclaimed run last year at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. Though Will Eno’s play features famous actors including Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei, their star power is significantly lower than that of Denzel Washington. As such, in its first 8-performance week, the show played to only 81.38% average capacity, with an average ticket price of $76.34.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending March 23, 2014:

Show	GrossGross	Total Attn	%Cap	AvgPdAdm
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER	$453,663	5,880	81.04%	$77.15
A RAISIN IN THE SUN	$1,107,163	8,368	100.00%	$132.31
ACT ONE	$152,704	2,648	61.07%	$57.67
AFTER MIDNIGHT	$714,663	7,555	91.16%	$94.59
ALADDIN	$937,099	13,782	100.16%	$67.99
ALL THE WAY	$881,336	8,646	76.00%	$101.94
BEAUTIFUL	$832,504	6,973	84.95%	$119.39
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY	$782,289	10,508	92.09%	$74.45
CABARET	$255,813	2,694	101.70%	$94.96
CHICAGO	$541,652	6,944	80.37%	$78.00
CINDERELLA	$902,579	11,245	80.28%	$80.26
IF/THEN	$1,008,303	9,854	96.61%	$102.32
JERSEY BOYS	$669,085	7,169	72.97%	$93.33
KINKY BOOTS	$1,451,463	11,101	97.45%	$130.75
LES MISÉRABLES	$1,031,869	10,931	97.11%	$94.40
MAMMA MIA!	$573,443	6,915	74.13%	$82.93
MATILDA	$1,163,417	11,519	100.55%	$101.00
MOTHERS AND SONS	$248,821	4,909	76.51%	$50.69
MOTOWN THE MUSICAL	$1,078,097	10,359	85.92%	$104.07
NEWSIES	$795,046	9,384	98.99%	$84.72
NO MAN’S LAND/WAITING FOR GODOT	$647,289	7,389	86.08%	$87.60
OF MICE AND MEN	$688,832	6,153	95.57%	$111.95
ONCE	$563,021	6,201	73.19%	$90.80
PIPPIN	$730,892	7,342	92.70%	$99.55
ROCK OF AGES	$366,648	4,415	94.66%	$83.05
ROCKY	$799,879	9,746	79.52%	$82.07
THE BOOK OF MORMON	$1,639,847	8,752	102.63%	$187.37
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY	$385,394	5,329	65.37%	$72.32
THE LION KING	$1,828,835	13,575	99.82%	$134.72
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA	$954,196	11,368	88.54%	$83.94
THE REALISTIC JONESES	$433,391	5,677	81.38%	$76.34
WICKED	$1,874,352	15,318	99.31%	$122.36
Totals:	$26,493,581	268,649	87.74%	$95.47